Issue #017, Review - December 13, 2015

Giant Reign 2 2015 Review

Just looking at the silhouette of the new Giant Reign, its intent is clear. It looks like it has been squashed by a mighty ‘gnar’ hammer – now lower, longer, and slacker than its previous incarnation. This thing wants to crush downhills.

Update August 2016: This is a review of the 2015 model, we’ve also reviewed the current Giant Reign 1 2016!

Boy is it long: the reach is 458mm in the Large size, adding up to a whopping 1217mm wheelbase. Not only is it the longest, but it’s also the cheapest bike in the test by a long shot. At a third of the price of the most expensive bike, we were keen to see what you get for your money when buying on a budget.

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The Reign has been around for a while and is tried and tested, how would the latest incarnation face up?

Looking at the frame we were impressed. The smooth, clean lines of the hydroformed frame and neat internal routing scream quality, a bargain at this price point. As we moved further down the build kit, as expected we started to see cost-cutting. The 2×10 Shimano Deore / SLX drivetrain adds a considerable range of gears, but also adds to the considerable weight. Despite their budget price tag, all agreed that the Deore brakes were faultless. The cockpit was ‘all business’ too with Giant’s own Contact 800mm bar and a 40mm Truvativ stem, and we were pleased to see a Stealth Reverb.

Climbing onto the long and low Reign, it feels like you could take on a world cup downhill race. The 160mm of Maestro suspension feels super active, and we knew it was going to love the descents. The Reign certainly proved its title on rough tracks; when all was going to hell in loose rock, the Maestro suspension kept everything under control. The long front centre holds ridiculous speed over rocks – sitting low and stable, it just bruises through everything in its path, allowing you to charge the direct lines without fear! The only limit to the Reign’s charging ability is your nerve, plus the fragile and cheap Schwalbe Performance 2.3” folding tyres that punctured regularly.

The longest wheelbas eon test at 1217mm. — The longest wheelbase on test at 1217mm.

On longer days we found ourselves creeping into the easier gears on the cassette. Although we were impressed with the Reign’s climbing ability, the hefty weight took its toll. The Reign is a bike that needs gravity to keep up momentum, struggling in undulating or flatter terrain, and at 14.79 kg it proved a little heavy going on longer rides. Most of the excess bulk is down to the cheaper build, and all testers were thinking that they would love to try a higher-spec model.

We did find that on long descents the Rockshox Monarch DebonAir RT started to lose its cool and we experienced spikes in the damping. We also found that the Reign’s brutal confidence becomes unravelled when you charge into a tight switchback too hot and physics take over, as squeezing that long wheelbase around tight turns caused the Rockshox Pike RC fork to run wide. Nimble it ain’t!

Details

Low and long: The Giant Reign is low and very long, giving it amazing stability on the descents. The stretched top tube made it a firm favorite with taller riders and provided a central riding position that inspired confidence in steep terrain. — **Low and long:** The Giant Reign is low and very long, giving it amazing stability on the descents. The stretched top tube made it a firm favorite with taller riders and provided a central riding position that inspired confidence in steep terrain.

A real maestro: The Giant Reign’s Maestro suspension makes easy work of big rocks and trail obstructions, smoothing out square edges effectively. The low-spec RockShox Monarch RT was great for trail riding, but was out of its depth on rough, lift-assisted trails. — **A real maestro:** The Giant Reign’s Maestro suspension makes easy work of big rocks and trail obstructions, smoothing out square edges effectively. The low-spec RockShox Monarch RT was great for trail riding, but was out of its depth on rough, lift-assisted trails.

Double up: On long climbs the extra ratios provided by the 2x10 drivetrain proved useful, but on the descents the double was noisy. The Shimano Deore / SLX drivetrain shifted well and even though the chain device did not stop every derailment, it helped keep everything in order. — **Double up:** On long climbs the extra ratios provided by the 2×10 drivetrain proved useful, but on the descents the double was noisy. The Shimano Deore / SLX drivetrain shifted well and even though the chain device did not stop every derailment, it helped keep everything in order.

Specification: Giant Reign 2 2015

Fork: RockShox Pike SoloAir RC 160mm
Rear Shock: RockShox Monarch RT Debonair 160mm
Drivetrain: Shimano Deore
Brakes: Shimano Deore M615 203/180mm
Seatpost: RockShox Reverb Stealth
Stem: Truvativ Holzfeller 50mm
Handlebar: Giant Contact SL DH 800mm
Tyres: Schwalbe Hans Dampf Performance
Wheelsize: 27.5″
Hubs: Formula Tracker
Wheels: Giant P-AM-2
Price: € 2,299

Strengths

Amazing value.
Extremely stable handling.

Weaknesses

Fragile tyre.
Monarch DebonAir RT lacked support.

Conclusion

For the price, we were incredibly impressed with the Reign, especially considering the entire bike could be brought for less than the ‘frame only’ price of some of the boutique competition. This is a bike that really needs a rear shock tune and a tyre swap to bring out the best of its hard-charging character, but we could not fault its dominance on rough descents. If you want a bike to slay the bike parks, the Reign is supreme.

For more information on the Giant Reign visit giant-bicycles.com.

This article is part of our Enduro Bike Group Test 2015.